Preveleak, and Recothrom
Thrombin; and assignments from Baxter
Global Nutrition. HCB Health and its
strategic group won the global corporate
branding assignment for Galderma
Corporate in Lausanne, Switzerland, with
additional duties spilling over into 2016
and beyond. Additionally, Alcon’s surgical group awarded the HCB team two
blockbuster launches during 2015 –
Pan-OptixIOL and UltraSert delivery system – with more critical launches in 2016
under way.

It was a banner creative year for HCB
Health as well, executives say, as the
agency topped its creative goals with a
total of 16 awards, including a Manny
Award for Best Philanthropic Campaign.
Titled “Manhole,” this guerilla and social
media campaign helped raised awareness of the need for colonoscopies among
men. Also launched was an unprecedented campaign for the Alcon Surgical Franchise entitled “We’ve Got Work to Do.” It
was a non-product specific campaign that
was essentially a call to arms to cataract
surgeons and manufacturers worldwide
with a message that more needs to be
done to eliminate cataracts as the leading
cause of blindness. “It made audiences
uncomfortable, determined and excited
to be part of the change,” executives say.
“This is the kind of work HCB does best.”
According to leaders, HCB’s progressive perspective helped drive a truckload
of resumes to the agency in 2015. “By the
end of the year, the agency secured three
top executives that left tenured positions
at major pharma agencies because they
wanted to be part of our growing agency,”
executives say.

In Austin, Senior VP Creative Director Amy Hansen joined the agency from
CDM Princeton. “Hansen’s creative leadership brings her deep, East Coast pharma experience to the Austin group – and
clients are delighted,” executives say.

Nick Rambke, based in Chicago and
formerly of AbelsonTaylor, was named
VP, group account director. Greg Niem-czyk, formerly of GSW, came on board to
help steer HCB’s new business acquisition
department. Also joining the agency was
Dave Russel as VP, director of media.

With so much new talent on board,Hilton and Beesley say they decided toelevate key players who could help bringexponential scale to HCB. Executive VPAmy Dowell and Executive VP Kim Car-penter of HCB Austin were promoted toassociate partners. “These veteran staff-ers have been with the agency for morethan a decade and have been empoweredto lead the next charge in HCB’s explosivetrajectory,” executives say.And HCB Chicago has also seen a num-ber of exciting changes, including namingBetsy Kramer its senior VP, director of ac-count service. Kramer’s background andtenure with the Chicago office has provenher to be a true leader for Chicago’s growingaccount service department, executives say.

With unprecedented growth comes a
new level of accountability, according to
agency leaders. HCB Austin and Chicago
realigned their operations group around
Kathy Field, senior VP, director of operations. This team consists of Lori Lipscomb, VP, director of finance, Austin;
Katie Keblusek, VP, director of finance,
Chicago; and Michelle Nezamabadi, director of human resources. “These core
leaders have made it their charge to foster our internal mantra of ‘all for one, and
one for all,’” executives say. “Though we
are housed in two great cities, we often
say that we are still one agency with 1, 100
miles between the 11th and 23rd floors of
our respective buildings.”

At its core, HCB Health is an agency that
thinks ahead, executives say. “In other
words, strategy is at the center of all we do
and includes a core team of therapeutic,
digital and creative expertise,” they say.
“As a result of our phenomenal expansion, Dowell now leads HCB’s Insights
Group, a team of strategic thinkers from
each account. And Carpenter has taken
on the role of Head of Integrated Services
with account services, media services and
digital services reporting directly to her.”
In 2015, HCB also added a new discipline – HCB Consulting Group led by
Beesley. “This year we’ve brought on some
C-level execs at pharma companies who
want more than strategic advice. They are
looking for coaching and ideation to solve
major issues they face. They need an objective viewpoint,” says Beesley. “My job
is to deliver the truth – good and bad.

And that is refreshingto many of these ex-ecs who have reachedthe top of their game.We want to help ourclients become betterleaders. That’s the in-tent of HCB CG.”Agency leaders saybecause HCB hasits roots deep in theheart of Austin, “digi-tal is who we are.”“We were part ofthe South by South-west scene beforemost folks knew whatSXSW was,” execu-tives say. “Now weare judges, panelistsand contributors inthe fastest growingsegment of the event.

And with an onsiteincubation lab thatattracts top digitaltalent from gaming,coding and new me-dia, no wonder moreclients come to HCBfor digital insightsthan ever before. Thefocus is to developsomething that noone has even thoughtof. And HCB’s digital capabilities have ex-panded our media buying power to reachboth patients and HCP communities.”To round out HCB’s expanded services,the agency added greater depth in pub-lic relations through its association withCrosswind Public Relations. Now clientshave the option to include PR as part ofa comprehensive marketing mix. Capa-bilities include crisis management, eventsplanning, product launches and mediatraining.

“Because HCB Health has evolved to amodel that allows top talent to residejust about anywhere and collaboratewith others across its community, you’llsoon see a broader footprint,” executivessay. “Can you say East Coast? To makethis agency system work effectively, we’llbuild it upon a digital engine that servesour privately held network. This enginewill include a larger pool of resources, in-cluding an expanded development team,additional strategists and social mediaexpertise. We’re also building our ownIdea Lab to prototype forward-thinkingtools that enable both patients and salesprofessionals.”Agency leaders say two major eventsduring March 2016 were expected to fuelHCB’s buzz and excitement. “Our two-of-fice, agency-wide offsite meeting will alignthe agency’s 75 staffers with a common vi-sion and a singular voice,” they say. “Andat SXSW, HCB partnered with Abelson-Taylor and Juice Pharma to co-sponsora key session with MIT. This two-and-a-half-day hackathon showcased MIT’sunique problem-solving process to bringto light real-world solutions for chronicdiseases.”“A lot has happened at HCB in the last
12 months. With a more diverse client ros-ter, a broader therapeutic portfolio and apitch-win rate of 50 percent, we see evengreater momentum ahead,” Hilton says.HCB leaders believe revenue will exceed$20 million in coming years, with 2016alone projected at around $15 million.

HCB has made a commitment to giving ofitself beyond the bottom line. One of ourmost precious resources is our time, andit’s this resource we proudly give to causesthat shape the betterment of humanity.”In 2015 HCB began working with CNNHero Chelsea Elliott of the Half-HelenFoundation. Elliott, who is blind in oneeye and deaf in one ear, launched hernonprofit organization to bring free vi-sion and hearing screenings to school-agechildren. HCB is providing media train-ing, brand creation, and website and col-lateral design to further her worthy cause.Along with ongoing initiatives that in-clude branding services for the BreastCancer Resource Center of Texas andcharitable giving to the Make-A-WishFoundation, HCB offers its staff a “Dayof Service” in order to foster its commit-ment to community giving. Employeesare encouraged to take a day off and makea world of difference to others in need.